1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cutting blade assemblies for hydraulic food cutting apparatuses. More particularly it relates to a cutter blade assembly for hydraulic food cutting apparatuses that cut a food product into a plurality of scoop shaped pieces, each piece generally emulating the shape of a cut section of celery, and ready for use without further cutting.
2. Background Art
Many food products, particularly vegetables and fruits, are processed prior to sale either by canning or freezing. Unless the product involved is of a naturally occurring edible size, for example peas, the product is usually trimmed and sliced, or diced, to an edible size prior to preservation processing such as canning or freezing. These slicing, dicing and other cutting operations have traditionally been accomplished with mechanical cutters. However, relatively recent advances in food product cutting technologies have resulted in the common use of hydraulic cutting apparatuses which can be used to cut relatively huge quantities of food product at very high speeds. Cutting capacities of 13,600 kilograms to 22,700 kilograms per hour are not unusual.
In a typical hydraulic cutting apparatus wherein potatoes are to be cut, the potatoes are dropped into a tank filled with water and then pumped through a conduit into an alignment chute wherein the potatoes are aligned and accelerated to high speeds before impinging upon a cutter blade assembly where the potato is cut into a plurality of smaller pieces. Hydraulic cutting apparatuses, or as they are known in the trade, hydroknives, can be utilized to cut extremely high volumes of potatoes if the potatoes can be properly aligned and accelerated to high speeds immediately prior to impact with the cutter blade assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,184 to Fisher et al. discloses a cutter blade assembly for use in coring a potato.
Quite obviously there are a variety of applications for hydraulic cutter knives other than just for potatoes. Some of these would include beets, pickles, carrots, apples, pineapples and literally a host of other edible food products.
None of the prior art discloses or teaches a method of utilizing a hydroknife apparatus for cutting a potato into a finished decorative form so as to enhance the marketing value of the processed food product. Likewise, none of the prior art discloses a device that cuts decorative potatoes in a finished decorative form. While the prior art does disclose the direct cutting of a decorative shape within a core, which is then passed on for further cross cutting, see for example my patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,045, the prior art does not disclose a device, which can cut a plurality of finished decorative potato pieces through the use of a hydroknife.
Likewise, while cutting processes have been developed which cut potato products into variety of decorative or fanciful designs and shapes. These processes require further processing such as cross cutting in order to finalize the preparation of the food product. Likewise, none of the prior art discloses or teaches a method of utilizing a hydroknife apparatus for cutting a potato into a shaped form that is both decorative as well as useful. None of the prior art describes a cutting process that produces an edible product with a scoop portion capable of delivering another food product to a user.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a cutting device which provides a plurality of decoratively shaped vegetable pieces in final form from a single vegetable piece. It is another object of the invention to provide a cutting blade assembly for use in a hydraulic cutting apparatus that cuts a plurality of decoratively shaped vegetable pieces in final form from a single vegetable piece. A further object of the invention is to provide a cutter blade assembly for use in a hydraulic cutting apparatus which produces a plurality of generally elongated scoop shaped pieces generally emulating a section of a piece of celery from a vegetable such as a potato.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.